Kidney transplants not dangerous for lupus patients

WASHINGTON - Lupus patients undergoing kidney transplant rarely develop serious inflammatory condition lupus nephritis in their new organ, reveals a new study.

The findings indicate that having lupus should not keep individuals from seeking a kidney transplant if they need one.

Lead researcher Dr Gabriel Contreras, MPH from University of Miami conducted a thorough evaluation of the frequency of lupus nephritis in kidney transplant recipients and determined the risk this condition has for patients.

They found that lupus nephritis rarely developed in the transplanted kidneys of these lupus patients.

It occurred in 2.44pct of individuals in the study. When it did occur, lupus nephritis led to a 4-fold increased relative risk of kidney transplant failure; however, the overall risk for the loss of the new organ attributed to lupus developing in the transplanted kidneys was only 7pct.

During the study, 12.7pct of patients died with only 0.4pct patients dying in the group with lupus developing in the transplanted kidneys.

The study also revealed that receiving a kidney transplant before or after starting dialysis did not affect one’s risk.

The type of kidney transplant (deceased vs living donor) also had no effect on a recipient’s risk of developing lupus nephritis.

The findings were presented at the American Society of Nephrology’s 42nd Annual Meeting and Scientific Exposition in San iego, CA. (ANI)